COUNCILLORS have called for the city’s rental landlords to be licensed.

Representatives of Brighton’s three major parties sat on a panel at a conference run by the Brighton and Hove Estate Agents Association (BHEAA) at Sussex County Cricket Club.

They debated solutions to problems with the city’s rental market with both the Labour and Green Party urging stricter regulations. Both parties proposed a version of a universal licensing scheme for landlords to register their properties with the authority.

Green councillor Alex Phillips, deputy chairman of the Brighton and Hove City Council housing committee, said the city is in a “housing crisis” and has a rental market which is double the size of the national average.

She said: “I think Brighton and Hove does need a register of landlords and that is why, as a council, we have already consulted on our housing strategy which included that question.

“The response rate to that was 92% in favour and we have received quite overwhelming support.”

She added: “The sector needs to have rents controlled and tenants need additional legal protection to be protected from these rogue landlords.”

Chris Henry, Labour council candidate for Hangleton and Knoll, one of the leaders of the Home Sweet Home rental campaign, said he has heard horror stories from tenants suffering from “cowboy” landlords.

He said Labour would introduce licensing as a matter of policy and insisted renters and landlords should be put on an “even keel”. Labour’s proposals were criticised by the Greens as too narrow and the Green’s proposals were criticised by Labour as too draconian. Also on the panel were Andrew Hovey and Carole Charge, of Leaders Estate Agents, and Clive Gross, East Sussex co-ordinator of the Generation Rent campaign.

Ms Charge argued that while there needs to be a “level playing field” for landlords, rent controls were not the way to do it.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, leader of the Conservative group, said he did not support the proposals. He said extra costs on landlords brought up by the licensing scheme could make the situation worse as any costs may filter down to tenants.

Criticism came from the floor with landlords in attendance agreeing with Coun Theobald in saying tenants would bear the costs.